Review by Jada Genter – Eurydice

     I had a very visceral, very personal reaction to the joint Alliance Theatre/Georgia Shakespeare Company production of Eurydice. My own much-beloved father passed away twenty years ago when I was fifteen. The brilliant script by Sarah Ruhl depicted a healthy, loving father-daughter relationship rarely seen in entertainment today, and the scenes between Eurydice and her father in the Underworld were a mirror of my childhood when I used to beg my father to tell me Famous Daddy Stories. In addition to the inner connection forged between myself and the characters, I had a strong reaction to the production elements themselves.

     The textured, versatile set takes the audience to the sea and to the underworld, through the fires of death (in one of the coolest F/X sequences seen in many a year), and into the hearts of its characters. The Alliance has a recurring water theme running through its season between The Women of Brewster Place, In the Red and Brown Water, and now Eurydice. This most current production uses water both pointedly and poignantly. The water running around the set contains many levels of symbolism, and the reoccurrence of actual water in the production (a rarity in stage plays) made the allegorical meaning that much deeper.

     The actors seemed extremely comfortable with their set, moving in, on and through it with an ease that further emphasized the almost character-like presence of the set. While the titular character was the center of the story, the other six characters all had their moments to shine, and the actors brought them magically to life. The 1950s innocent sensibility was a wise choice for a modern update of the traditional Greek production. Eurydice was fresh and joyful, and her beloved Orpheus seemed real, despite some of the more esoteric aspects of his character. What can I say about Father? He made me miss my own, so long gone. And the Lord of the Underworld nearly stole the show when he came out as a skeazily precocious child. Let us, however, not forget the Stones. The detailed physical affectations and spot-on vocal performances by Neal A Ghant, Paul Hester and Courtney Patterson were reason enough to see the play, as though it needed any more. Let me also add that their costumes were brilliantly conceived and constructed.

     I loved this production. The individual elements were brilliantly realized and came together to form a cohesive, inspiring whole. I was uplifted and I was inspired. What greater compliment can I give?